Even If Tomorrow Never Comes
by Love A Stranger
Summary: Tsukushi x Tsukasa Tsukasa has committed the unthinkable and has to start from almost scratch to regain Tsukushi's trust and love. But nothing lasts forever, only some things last longer than others.
1. 10,000 Yen an Hour

Title

**So this fanfic takes place after Tsukasa's declaration of war against Tsukushi had ended and at the beginning of the tiny hint of hope for their love affair sprouts, enjoy!**

It had been a nice day, a perfect day to take a power nap before classes after lunch began. Tsukushi figured there was nothing better to do than spend her lunch time taking a nap under a tree since Yuki wasn't in school to keep her company. But having fallen into a deeper sleep than she thought she would, Tsukushi woke up in just enough time to make it to class if she ran to her full-speed. She picked up her books and made a run for her class, on the second floor.

She rushed down the call, zooming past a bunch of upper and under classmen. She made a sharp turn around the corner for the stairs only to run into the F4. Not only did she just run head first into the leader of the group Doumyouji but even caused him to drop whatever beverage he was holding right out of his hand and onto his probably expensive shirt. "Where do you keep your eyes?" the already pissed off Tsukasa questioned. The rumors and reputation of the infamous Doumyouji Tsukasa was true.

He was truly an over-privileged, ungrateful, inconsiderate, narrow-minded, ignorant, definitely conceited and self-absorbed brat. She didn't know how to react, surely she was intimidated however she had too much pride to show it. "Ah! I am so sorry, I'll pay for the damage done; but I've got to get to my Literature class now!" she figured acting normal would be the best way, after all, they were both only human, right? "Do you even know who I am?" he raised an eyebrow "never mind that, if you didn't I'd report you for an illegal immigrant." Tsukushi was dumbstruck by this unreasonable comment. "I know who you are alright, and I am THE Makino Tsukushi, I need to get to class!" She slipped away from his powerful stare and continued running towards her class.

She didn't understand what caused her to stand up so bravely against the biggest figure in school. Even the teachers had nothing to say to their behaviors only because without their parents' contribution the Eitoku gakuen, the school would surely become mediocre as opposed to the elite status it holds now. Pushing that thought aside, she slipped into class and sat in her seat just in time for the bell.

"Ey, Tsukasa, what are you going to do about your disastrous test score in literature class?" asked Rui with eyes half open. "Rui, do I ever care about my performance in school? I go to school merely to make sure all the little hoodrats are in their place, where they are supposed to be, under my feet," Tsukasa answered as if there was no need to be answering to such a question. "I know but remember what your oh-so-feared mother had warned you about? If you don't graduate you will have to move back to the United States and marry Shigeru, that girl who looks like a dyke!" exclaimed Akira. This was true, although Tsukasa had so much power at Eitoku, he was so small compared to all the things his much-hated mother can do to ruin his life. "Plus, money never bought you any grades, it just made sure your tardiness and absences were clear," added Rui. "Ugh, thanks for bringing that up" Tsukasa sighed as he brought a hand to his forehead. "Hey! I've got an idea! I can help you Tsukasa! Follow me Soujiro!" Akira left the scene as he dragged Soujiro away scheming something.

"Tsukasa is never good with people, GIRLS especially, and I think that this a sign heaven is telling us. We are going to post an ad for tutors all over school and the only requirements are: Top 100 of the class and you have to be a girl! Sounds good, ne?" Akira explained as he clicked the print button for the flyers. "I really don't know Akira, I mean, how many people has been able to put up with Tsukasa? Not many... and sometimes even I feel like I've had too much of him!" Soujiro was a little resistant to believe that this plan was going to work. "Ok, well it's worth a try Soujiro, people can't always avoid him, he'll just become a bigger selfish brat than he already is!!" Akira gathered the flyers with a roll of tape. "You are going to help me post these up before the school gets out!"

"The flyers don't even say who they will be tutoring... it just says a very difficult, literatelly-chanellenged?! I'm not even sure if that's what he is! And how are we going to pay for this?? 10,000yen per HOUR?" Soujiro exclaimed as he put a piece of take across the flyer. Akira answered "ok, it's going to be a difficult job, we need VERY attractive incentives!"

School was finally out, Tsukushi cheerfully skipped down the packed hallway, making her way in and out of people. She noticed a crowd of people hovering around every bulletin board, _what is this ruckus about? Maybe it's a new listing for winter vacation jobs? I better take a look at this, hopefully it'll be better than the dango shop! _Thinking to herself, Tsukushi tried to squeeze her tiny self through the crowd. "Need Tutoring in Literature, 100,000yen per hour however very difficult literally-challenged student?!" She almost fell to the floor laughing at the last part. _Alright sounds like a plan, I think I will be taking up this job! _She quickly jotted down the number provided and decided to give them a call on her way to the dango shop.

The noise of Akira's cell phone ring has annoyed everyone, enough to leave Akira alone in the hallway as they chatted away in Tsukasa's room. "Hello? If you are looking for the tutoring job, you've come to the right place!" he answered every call cheerfully. "H... hello, I am interested in the job.. How can I apply?" a shy voice replied over the phone. "Well, I will be holding an interview tomorrow afternoon at the café across the street, I need you to bring and unofficial print out of your transcript to verify your class rankings," he answered back. "Oh, alright thank you!" and the conversation was over.

The next day, the café shop was bursting out with a pack of girls, transcripts ready at hand, interested in the interview. "Oh my! It's Akira from the F4!! Maybe one of them needs a tutor!!" one girl shouted as the other replied "it better me be! I can handle them!" The girls were swooning all over the image of Akira. _Oh great, the F4 was who it was! Should I stay or should I go? The 10,000yen surely does sound so... useful right now... _Makino was truly debating when she realized it was her turn for the interview.

"Well hello miss, may I have your transcript please?" Akira held out his hand and flashed his killer smile. Tsukushi handed him her accomplishments proudly and sat down. "Impressive, you are in the class top 10! Makino...Tsukushi?" Akira looked up from his papers as her name rang a bell. "Well this is just too much of an entertainment for me, you are the one who ran into Tsukasa earlier today right?" Hoping that he wouldn't remember, failed. "I supposed..." she coyly replied. "Well then, I guess there is no need to proceed further with my search! I've found the one, YOU! I will see you every weekend 9am SHARP at the Doumyouji residence for a tutoring session with none other than Tsukasa himself. Oh and bring all of yourself, you'll need it." With his last words said, he stood up, put on his sunglasses, and walked out of the café with the girls following behind him.

_What? Just like that? I got the job?_ She felt a little uneasy however. She was confused on whether or not she should be happy about this or maybe even miserable. _Ok, whatever I can do this! 100,000yen an hour will definitely make mom and dad happy and I can buy Christmas presents for everyone!!_ She got excited she thinking about the freedom she will have when she earns more money for herself. She can help out her parents pay for her tuition and reward the people who deserve the most around her.

"WHAT? You've arranged for a tutor every weekend?" Tsukasa jumped out of his seat in rage, ready to throw anything and everything that was within his reach from his position at Akira. "Yes, but listen! This one is interesting, she's on the top 10 of the class AND I think you'll like her, she can be feisty." Akira winked as he concluded. "9AM is too early for any to be awake, so we'll check up on you around lunch, don't miss us too much" Soujiro added as the remaining F4 stood up to leave the Doumyouji residence. "See you tomorrow Tsukasa" Rui waved as he exited out of the mansion.

_What should I wear?_ Tsukushi tried to shake these thoughts off her head. "It's only a tutoring session silly" she said out loud and continued to get ready. She stepped out of the shower smelling like a fresh bouquet of roses, her new body wash. She pulled on a pair of dark denim and plain white long sleeve shirt layered with a thick gray hoodie. The weather seems a bit gloomy, maybe I'll snow since it's cold. She grabbed a bag to throw in her text book, some paper she had prepared, cell phone, etc. She walked out of the house and walked towards the subway station.

The cloud began to cover a majority of the sky. _Should I have brought an umbrella? No, it's only a 15 minute ride to his house anyways. _She hurried before the ill weather got any worse. However, she was right. When she walked out of the subway station near Doumyouji residence, it was pouring. _Crap! What am I going to do?_ She took a deep breath and began to run, full speed, stopping to catch a breath under every overhang, then continuing.

She arrived at her destination looking like a street rat. _I can't show up like this! I am SO embarrassed... Should I just go home today?_ She became humble at the greatness of his house. It was a gated mansion, probably more than two stores high, it would definitely fit her little apartment more than a hundred times and still have room left over she thought. _No, this is irresponsible, who cares what I look, I'm just here to tutor._ She swallowed her embarrassment and rang the door bell. She was greeted by a kind servant who led her up to an enormous room, filled with very decorative, golden furniture and a fireplace cracking with wood. She walked up closer to the fireplace in a small attempt to dry herself up before she meets the... you-know-who.

"How pathetic" a deep voice alerted her from behind. "Who are you to judge?" Tsukushi quickly turned around to rebuttal. She stopped only to realized how handsome he actually was. He was dressed in a zip up hoodie and a pair of athletic pants, very casual. She never noticed how tall he was and from her angle, he didn't look to shabby at all. She shook these thoughts aside and spat out "ok, mister literally-challenged, I've made a study plan for you to begin with."

"You smell like mildew," he made an awful face and turned his head. "Well that shouldn't be what you're worried around, what you really should be worried ab..." before she could even finish her sentence he walked out of the room. _How rude!! What a jerk! I am going to teach this guy a lesson!_ But moments later he walked into the room with something in his hand. "I shouldn't even be doing this, you're the one who made me spill my drink all over my new Dolce and Gabbana suit. If you ever want to set foot in my house again, at least keep yourself some deficiency" he stated only to be stand corrected "um... you mean decency?" Tsukushi let out a little giggle and brought her hand to her mouth. Tsukasa turned bright red and tossed the bundle of clothes to her. She walked right past him to look for a bathroom to change.

As she walked by, he could smell a whiff of her new body wash, the moisture from the rain acting as a catalyst to bring back the faint smell back to it's full potential. He had to admit, it smelt good. He sat on a couch in front of the fireplace unconsciously leading his mind to lead back to Tsukushi. There was something about her, he wanted to know more of who she really was, but then again, she was probably a middle-class nobody.

Tsukushi changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of basketball shorts too long for her that it has become practically pants to her. She walked in the room a little unsure of what to do next. "Alright, let's get started" she cheerfully exhaled as she took big steps into the room.


	2. You're Only a Filthy Commoner!

Title

It's been weeks since the tutoring session began and seems like Tsukasa has been progressing, very slowly. "I still can't believe this, do you know how much of an impact I have on my reputation because of this stupid tutoring session? And plus, it adds a great deal of damage to my pride!" Tsukasa barked at Akira. "Alright, we can all it quits! I can tell her to stop showing up and you can marry that dyke and live with your mother happily ever after, alright?" Akira back-fired with Tsukasa's most feared destiny. He just let out a long sigh and slumped back into his big, comfortable chair.

Things haven't been the same ever since he noticed the way she smelt like roses. _Alright Tsukasa, you're being stupid. Girls are a waste of time and plus, she is a COMMONER, there is nothing worse than a poor beggar girl demanding attention from you. _He thought to himself every time his mind drifted off without his consent. "So what are we doing for Winter Break again?" Soujiro interrupted the moment of silence he added, "going to England for winter was the biggest mistake of my life ever last year, I almost froze my butt off in the cold and found nothing but a handful of blondes and brunettes. I want to go somewhere exotic, away from this cold!"

"I know! Why don't we go to Guam? It's a pretty small island but pretty exotic enough for me!" Akira suggested in excitement, but everyone knew, the source of his suggest was born out of his desire to see women in bikinis. "Alright, sounds like a great get-a-way..." Tsukasa finally agreed, "oh wait, don't you lay back yet! You're not off the hook, we're going to take Tsukushi with us! That way, she can pack some more knowledge into your already over-loading brain!" Akira was greeted by a firm upper-cut punch by Tsukasa. "Who do you think she is? She doesn't fit in with us, she's just a commoner, I bet she's never even been on a plane!" he added. "Well, then it'll be a good chance for us to show her some new things, you know? A no good deed ever goes unpunished." Soujirou gave no room for Tsukasa to complain, the plan has been established.

"So I heard, you've been tutoring Doumyouji-sama and that you get to be in the presence and grace of F4 every weekend! You undeserving rat!" Asai and her gang found Tsukushi after P.E. class. "It's not that big of a deal, and plus if you were maybe poor and ranked top 10 of the class, you could have gotten the job!" Tsukushi shot back at them, Yamano grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked it towards her. "You listen ok? This isn't you little playground, commoners like you should have never set foot in here in the first place!"

"Yamano is right, girls like you disgust us. Poor, filthy, trying to be someone they were never meant to be, ha ha!" Eriko pushed Tsukushi against the wall as Yamano let go of the fistful of hair she clutched on from Tsukshi. In an attempt to fight back, Tsukushi threw a punch across Yamano's face only to be warned by Asai "think twice before you act, when you leave even the smallest scratch on our faces, you better be ready to quit school and start attending school where you REALLY belong!" With a devilish laugh, she slapped Tsukushi across her face leaving a trail of red scratches from her ridiculously long fingernails painted bright pink. "Let's go, I can't stand this filth any longer." The Asai gang disappeared around the corner.

_You're not a coward Tsukushi, stand up! Do not cry, never let anyone see your tears. Their words are meaningless, it's nothing to me. _She bravely picked herself up and headed back to the locker room. She brushed her hair into a braided pigtail and packed her dirtied P.E. clothes into her book bag.

Tsukushi sluggishly walked up the steps to her next class in a dreamy haze. Sometimes she really couldn't understand what all this enduring was for. If she tried hard enough in a public school she might have had a good chance getting into a good college also. And her mom's silly theory about meeting a rich, handsome boy at Eitoku seemed like a fairytale.

From across the hall the F4 made their way to leave after lunch, then something caught Tsukasa's eyes, a sluggish moving figure across the hall. Her braids were loose and as they got closer, it seemed like her cheek was swollen with bright red gashes. Without even realizing where she was going, Tsukushi bumped into Akira, apologized, and continued walking. Normally she would have been more alert. Tsukasa grabbed her wrist and swung her around. "What is this? Are you too poor to go to a beach and now you burn yourself tanning at school?" Tsukasa didn't mean to sound so harsh and he almost regret opening his mouth.

Tsukushi looked up into his eyes but he knew that she was not there. "Yeah" she simply said and turned around and wiggled a bit to loosen her arm from Tsukasa's grip. "Who did that to you?" Rui asked with concern on his face. When Tsukushi turned to answer, she saw a new light. _Don't cry Tsukushi! Never let the F4 see your tears, it's a sign of weakness, you have to be strong!_ "It's nothing, really, I just fell during P.E." she stuttered her words and avoided making eye contact. Tsukasa loosened his grip on her wrist as Rui cupped her face. Tsukushi blushed even more and looked up into this beautiful wispy boy's eyes.

There was something inside Tsukasa that stung when he saw this. Why couldn't be cup her face like that? Why couldn't he ask her with a face of concern what was wrong? He knew the answer, it was his pride. "I think I am going to take her to the nurse, you can't let scarring happen on a face!" Rui was quick to act, he scooped her up in one swift motion and walked towards the Nurse's office. _Pshh, what is she to me anyways? Whatever, let Rui take care of the mess, it isn't my business. _Tsukasa tried to blow off this swirling feeling inside and continued walking.

"Here Tsukushi, lets just put ointment on this and we'll seal it up with a bandaide!" the nurse was nice. But Tsukushi couldn't help but stare at the way Rui was examining her while she was sitting on the bed being pampered by the nurse. "Uh... Thank you... Hanazawa-san..." she didn't make eye contact with this beautiful creature but she managed to get her true feelings out. "Don't mention it, just pay me back by going on winter vacation with us to Guam" he bluntly stated. "GUAM?" Her eyes widened as she searched through her brain to point out where it exactly was on a map. _It's too far too walk, it's too far to ride the subway, it's too far to drive so..._ _I have to fly?_ "Ugh, thanks for offering but as you and everyone else know, I don't have the luxury to cover all the expens..." Rui interrupted "no need, we got it. You just have to keep on tutoring Tsukasa the way you do, he's definitely improving, but it's not good enough."

"But, a week could be a good break for him to cool off from all the school work and stress from bullying people around..." she hastily tried to find excuses. "Ha ha, you make me laugh. He never really goes to school or does any of the work. We only want to tutor him so he can pass high school and avoid marrying Shigeru, but that's all you need to know for now." With that, he stood up and walked out of the office "we'll see you then!"

"No fair! I get to open and close this dango shop for the entire winter break while you enjoy the warmth and the sun in Guam with the F4!" Yuki made the saddest face Tsukushi has ever seen. "Yuki-chan! Don't say that, I would love to be here with you but it seems like I don't really have a choice. But on the bright side, I'll be able to make more money to buy better Christmas gifts! I'll even bring you back a souvenir!" Tsukushi tried cheering her best friend up. "No, just being me back a hunky tall, dark, and handsome man!" she replied and they both laughed.

The sun was brightly shining but the roads of Tokyo glistened with snow. "Everyone's here? Let's go!" the F4 and Tsukushi were driven by Tsukasa's limo to the airport. "You know, you didn't seem to have packed much being a girl and all..." admitted Akira trying to make some of the awkward silence in the car. "Well, what has she to pack?" Tsukasa spitted an insulting comment as usual. "Just stuff, to keep creeps and crooks like this noodle-haired boy away," Tsukushi joked as the rest of F4 burst into laughter except the main topic of her sentences. "Alright you piece of weed, I've had enough. You either keep your mouth shut or else!" Tsukasa began turning bright red with fury as Rui interrupted "You shouldn't be talking like that to someone who will be determining whether to marry Shigeru or not, Tsukasa." Rui sent him a heartful smile as Tsukushi took a glance and began to blush. "Aw, smile again Rui! I think Tsukushi is blushing!" Akira joked as Tsukushi gave him the strongest noogie he has ever received. Enough for his wavy locks to fall out.

Trying not to get caught, Tsukasa kept an eye on Tsukushi who was reading a book the entire ride. He observed her delicate profile and her soft looking hair. He wondered if her waves were natural like his curls. It was amazing to see her get along so well with the F4, he has never seen anyone do that before.

When they arrived at the airport, they were specially escorted around the airport to get through all the security clearances faster than everyone else. "Enjoy this while you can commoner, this is what it feels like to have power" Tsukasa held up his nose high. "You're the biggest jerk, asshole," she said it in a playful tone, however, he was able to sense a hint of hurt in her clear, deep drown eyes. _You ARE a jerk Tsukasa, why would you say something like that? _He thought to himself.

Once they were on the plane, they decided to sit according to their seating arrangements to avoid hassling. Which meant that Rui had to sit next to Tsukushi. As the flight continued, Tsukasa glanced back many times at Tsukushi and Rui who seemed to be having a good time as Rui thought Tsukushi card games and magic tricks. Tsukasa felt a pang of jealousy run through his blood, he couldn't stand it anymore. He got out from his seat and went over to Rui. "Change seats" he simply demanded. Without a word Rui smiled and got out to offer the empty chair. Tsukushi was a bit crushed to see Rui go away without any hesitance. _Did Tsukasa have THAT much power even over his own friends? Or maybe Rui doesn't really think much of me at all..._ "What are you doing?" Tsukushi asked. "Breaking you two love birds apart, you can't seduce Rui, he is in love with someone else" Tsukasa replied. "Who said I was trying to seduce him? He is just far more entertaining and nicer than you are, jerkface!"

Tsukasa brought his face close to her face "disrespect me one more time and see what happens" he warned. She could smell his addictive cologne and felt a chill as soon as his hands touched and grabbed her close by the back of her neck.

"Talk about respect, you should be giving out respect if you want to be respected yourself you selfish brat!" she whispered, careful not to wake any of the other passengers up. Without any hesitation, Tsukasa turned his head and pulled Tsukushi in for a kiss. _What is this? Why is this happening? _So many things ran through her head in a split second. _I cannot believe I've wasted my first kiss with this horrible jerk!_ She felt tears forming in her eyes as she tried to suppress her anger and shock. She quickly pulled away and slapped him. Waking a couple of the passengers up. However, there was no where for her to go. She just got up to go to the bathroom.


	3. Very First Plane Ride

Title

Everyone arrived in Guam safely, the entire plane ride after Tsukasa's strange move was spent in uncomfortable silence between the two. The taste of her sweet lip balm still lingered in his mouth. He didn't know what brought him to commit such act of bravery but he had finally done something his subconscious mind has been wanting. And now that he had a taste of her, he couldn't let it go. But now the problem became even greater, she hates him.

They were given their own rooms at the five-star hotel. Tsukushi unpacked what little she had and decided to shower first. She ran her finger across her lips, still able to feel that jolt of something inexplicable. She assumed it was disgust and hatred. She stood under the beating rays of water thinking. _No, did I secretly enjoy that? Impossible. Why would he do that if he wasn't a genuine jerk?_ She was so confused.

She stepped out of the shower, and wrapped herself in a large towel. She walked out to the balcony and smiled as she saw the beautiful scenery of the crystal clear ocean, the warm sunlight, and a clear sky. She let her hair down from the towel that was holding it up and closed her eyes to soak up the sun. As she was enjoying her first taste of Guam, Tsukasa enjoyed his first look at her wearing nothing but a towel. He let his imaginations run wild of what could possibly be hidden under the simple sheet of material. "You don't have to make it that obvious that you've never been to Guam you know..." he tried to start a conversation with her in hopes of hopefully mustering up enough courage to apologize for his act earlier fueled by his lack of inhibitions.

She quickly turned to see who it was, surprised, without even saying a word she turned her back to leave. Tsukasa was a little hurt by this but he was too strong to let such tiny emotions put him out of balance.

That night, everyone decided to explore the local bar. Although they were underage, it seemed like there was no problem getting in. As the night grew on, they slowly began to drift away into their own pursuits but Tsukasa sat in a corner of the bar with his order of a drink and kept an eye on Tsukushi who seemed to have met a new friend. She had a drink in her hand which worried Tsukasa because he wasn't sure how she'd handle alcohol. _That idiot, what does she think she is doing? She could be getting raped for all she knows if I hadn't been keeping an eye on her!_ He watched as the man tried to scoot his way closer to her. At first she seemed to be hesitant and scooting away from him until the alcohol had been setting in. Tsukasa could see that she was beginning to lean on this new man with her small hands delicately clinging onto his shirt. Then this man took her to her feet and walked her out of the bar. Furious and alerted, Tsukasa dashed out of the bar following right behind.

_That stupid girl! She is putting me through such a hassle!_ He grabbed Tsukushi by her arm and yanked her out of the man's hold. "Ow, Tsu-ka-ssaa, dath hurrts" she was definitely drunk, slurring her words like that. "She's actually with me and it's getting late, we're heading back" Tsukasa said in proficient English. "Wait, wait, then what were you doing letting her chat away the night with another man huh? You can't have her! She's mine for the night!" the angry man threw a punch with Tsukasa swiftly dodged. He carefully put Tsukushi down by a curb and threw his hardest punches.

"You think you're so tough huh?" the man grabbed a thick wooden bat from his car and began attacking Tsukasa. After receiving a few gut wrenching blows, Tsukasa firmly fought back. With his last remaining strength, he pushed the man back to his car and wrapped his hands around his neck. "You better watch out the next time you try to date rape another woman!" Then Tsukasa spat on the man's car, picked up Tsukushi and walked back to the hotel. Realizing he didn't know where Tsukushi kept her room key, he took her to his room.

She clung onto him like a helpless baby. She was wearing a simple tank top and short denim shorts. He laid her down on his bed and went to shower and change his bloody clothes. After he stepped out of the shower he threw on some shorts and a shirt to pour water into a glass cup. He brought it over to Tsukushi to help her drink it. Tomorrow she'll feel terrible for sure, but there was nothing he could really do. "Mmm, Tsukasa..." she almost moaned his name as she tried to lift her heavy and tired head to drink the water. The way she moaned his name sent his body an alerting bolt of electricity. She was so vulnerable and helpless. He could just take her like this right now and she wouldn't even remember tomorrow morning. He could really do it, because in the end, what does this poor commoner mean to him anyways besides to provide him some entertainment?

Lost deep in his thoughts he accidentally poured the water on to her. Her shorts were soaking and he immediately took them off without thinking what he was doing. Then he realized, that he was in for more trouble than he thought. Her feminine hips were exposed and her slender legs were stretched out on the bed. "Tsukasa, you're a real asshole" she slowly slurred the words as he tried to cover her with the blanket. She threw a little tantrum, a cute one, "no, no, no! I'm hot, I don't want a blanket!" She even began to lift her tank top up, but Tsukasa's subconscious mind wouldn't allow her to expose herself unwillingly to him. He held her shirt down and leaned in to whisper in her ear "no, don't do that Tsukushi, you don't know what I'll do next." "Try me, you noodle haired boy, I'm not scared of youu." She continued to slurr and this drove Tsukasa insane.

Sure, there has been lots of girls thrown at him begging for attention but none like this one. There was something about the way she is so confident, outgoing, and strong yet delicate. Tsukasa figured it wouldn't hurt to lay next to her until she fell asleep. He crawled onto the empty side and provided an arm pillow for her. He studied the curves of her face and how long and neat her eyelashes were. Her cheeks were red from the alcohol and just enough cleavage was visible from her tank top. When he realized he couldn't take this any more, he stood up off the bed and headed towards the balcony.

She allowed herself to hungrily grope all around his well-developed chest. It was broad, firm, and yet soft. His skin was smooth and he smelled addictive. She sat straddling him enjoying every bit of him inside her. She rocked back and forth forcing their hips to grind against one another as he guided her with his massive hands on her tiny waist.

"Mmm…" she threw her head back in an overload of pleasure and continued. She took a hold of his hands and slowly guided them up her flat stomach, ribs, and her breasts. While she let him feel her, she brought her own hands back to his hips to make sure her rocking was steady and powerful.

Realizing he was about to reach his peak, he quickly flipped her over onto the bed, dominating over her. She felt his entire weight on her, it was hard for her to breath. She let out rough, sporadic moans as he thrust deeper with strength. She spread her legs a bit wider to increase the penetration. She could see the fire in his eyes, the way he was staring at her, all over her made her burn and ache for more of his love and attention.

She arched her back to get closer and wrapped her tiny hands around his neck, digging her fingers into his curly hair. "Oh god, Tsukasa, I can't take this anymore!"

Tsuksuhi shot up, wide-awake, sweating from the "nightmare" the next morning. She was also greeted by a terrible feeling inside her stomach. Like she had consumed a live animal and it's been twisting inside until she barfed it back up. _What was that about? I can't believe I would even think about making love to that nasty! Ugh, this is so disturbing!_ She looked around the room and got up to take a shower. Walking like a zombie, she made her way to the bathroom to realize that all her stuff was missing. She ran out of the bathroom to look for an extra pair of underwear in her suitcase, which she couldn't even find._ Huh? What is going on? Did the hotel maid take my stuff away?_ She questioned to herself as she spotted an unfamiliar Louis Vuitton luggage bag under a table. _Doumyouji Tsukasa_ it read. She sprang up and took a closer look around the room, all hotel rooms look the same but this wasn't hers. She hurried to run out of the room and reached into her shorts for the room key. _Oh my god. Where are my shorts?_ She stood in the middle of the hotel hallway in a tank top and underwear. _Great, this is such a horrible trip! _She tucked herself away, crunched up in a ball in front of her room door, half-hoping to run into someone who can help.

"Soujiro, you'd never know, last night was one of the best nights I've had on vacations!" Tsukasa heard a familiar voice come from across the hall. "Akira, the girl you left the bar with looked like man on heels," bluntly admitted Rui. Akira looked at him with a hurtful face and the F4 burst out laughing. Tsukushi wanted to melt and seep into the carpet at this moment. "Ey look! That's Tsuku-chan! What are you doing on the floor?" A little annoyed by the self-proclaimed pet name but relieved that it was Rui of all people, she stood up. "I...I... don't have my room key... I think it's in my pants... in Doumyouji's room..." She slowly recited as she turned a bright shade of pink and so did Tsukasa. "Ohhh, our little boy has become a man! Getting his fair share of actions!" Soujiro congratulated him with a sturdy pat on the back. "It's not like that! We didn't do anything!" Tsukasa barked back, "I would never in a million years we caught dead with a guy like that for my first..." too late to stop herself, Tsukushi covered her mouth.

"Wow, this is interesting, so our little Tsuku-chan is still a proud member of the V-Club!" Akira exclaimed, "perfect, we figured it's about time for Tsukasa to retire from the honorary memb..." with a powerful punch across the face Akira stopped dead on his track. Tsukushi couldn't help but blush at the reminded memory of her dream. She really hoped that none of them were able to see through her mind. Without a word, Tsukasa walked into his room to grab her some-what neatly folded shorts. He handed them to her without a smile. She snatched it away and fumbled through the pockets to find the key.

Tsukushi sat in the bathtub full of warm water thinking about the dream. _It felt so real, I could almost feel the sensations all over again...But in the end, it's still pretty disgusting. I can't believe I let myself think that far!_ She sunk her embarrassed self under the water as she held her breath and closed her eyes. The feeling of being underwater was serene. All she heard what her thoughts, all she saw were her thoughts, and all she felt was her thoughts. "Makino!" she heard herself call, "Makino!" she called herself again, but weird, because she didn't. Suddenly someone pulls her out of the water in a rush. She screams as she panics, naked. "Ahh! What are you doing? You creeper, pervert!" She managed to jump away from Tsukasa's grip and launched for a towel. She hastily wrapped herself with a large towel and glared up at him. "Why do you always do just the right things to make me hate you more and more?" she yelled at him. Frozen by the scene Tsukasa slowly made out "You… you took so long to get ready! We've been waiting for you to go checkout downtown! Then you looked like you were drowning in your own tub!"

"I never asked for your help, I'm not an idiot who'd drown in a tub or a depressed child trying to commit suicide! But come to think about the fact that I still have 4 days with you on this island makes me want to!" She furiously shouted with her fists in the air. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" her eyes began to tear up a bit out of frustration. _Oh god, is she crying because of me? What should I do? Should I hug her or turn around and leave?_ A million questions ran through Tsukasa's head. So far the trip for Tsukushi has been a disaster, and the only thing she wished right now was to go home.


	4. The Other Side of Him

Title

His gentle hand caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards in order to reach up for a kiss. His kiss was soft, sweet, and steady. She brought her hand up to reciprocate his move on his cheek. She wrapped her arm around his neck as she pulled up to wrap her slender legs around his waist. He supported her effort by lifter her up with her thighs.

She was already shirtless and the only thing that separated them was a piece of thin material her underwear was made out of. He pushed her against a wall and the kissing became more intense. His tongue explored freely around her mouth and she slowly grazed his lower lip. She looked into his eyes and met his. There was no hint of play, his face was serious and he softly spoke to her "I want you."

Tsukushi woke up once again from this perverted yet interesting dream. She felt around herself to make sure her clothes were on and looked around the room to check it they were her room with no Tsukasa. _Why do these dreams come to me? I've never even had sex and it makes me shudder just at the thought of it! _She looked over at the digital clock across the room, which read 7:30pm. The nap she intended to take was much longer than anticipated. She got out of bed, threw on a white strapless breezy dress with flowery decorations near the hem. She lightly brushed her luscious, amber colored hair, which hung down to the middle of her back. She slicked on some of her favorite lip balm.

She made her way out of the room to explorer the beach just across the street from the hotel. While leaving the main lobby, she was greeted by the hotel service workers who hung a lei around her neck as a complimentary gift. The pink and white hibiscus flower released a sweet smell around her neck. She crossed the street carefully and felt a bit relaxed after the warm sand had crawled between her toes. She walked towards the ocean as she kicked up the sand. _This place is really gorgeous. When I become rich, this is definitely where I want to live._ She thought to herself as she found an apt place to sit. There were mounds of big rocks at the end of the beach, almost like a divider. She slowly made her way into the water to reach for the boulder surrounded by the water.

She watched the sunset alone. _Wouldn't it be so nice to have someone to share this with? I think it would feel so good to have someone hold me here, and watch the sunset with me. _Shaking away her too-good-to-be-true hopeless romantic thoughts she got up to head back to the hotel. She turned around to leave and slipped on the slippery part of the rocks where the algae probably grew all over. She lost her balance and fell in the water with a twisted pain in her ankle. "Ow! Ugh, I think I've sprained my ankle..." As she slowly tried getting back up she heard a familiar but an unwelcomed voice. "You clumsy fool!" Tsukasa swooped her out of the water and made his way back to the hotel with her in his arms. "Let me go! I can't walk on my own!" she tapped his chest, "you mean limp on your own" he refused. "Why are you always following me?" she asked frustrated. "Well if you haven't noticed my presences of greatness, I think there is something seriously wrong with you. I've been sitting on the cliff the whole time watching the sunset until I saw an annoying familiar girl sit on a rock covered with algae" he explained. "And it seems like I can't ever take my eyes off of you..." he quietly murmured as the entered the crowded lobby.

She saw all the envious stares as the women in the lobby stared at her, or more like Tsukasa. Tsukushi looked up to see the man carrying her up the stairs and into the elevator. He wasn't bad looking at all, in fact he was probably considered a rare beauty. Not many people in Japan looked like him. He was tall, well-built, manly, and very charismatic. That's probably why he intimidates everyone around so much, including her.

He brought her into her room and looked through the drawers for a first aid-kit. "I'm no doctor but I used to play basketball and I'd get sprained ankles all the time. Luckily yours don't look all too bad." He rolled out a long piece of gauze and tape to tightly wrap and secure them on her ankle. His big hands gently touched her leg which made her gasp a little as he placed his hand behind her knee to extend her leg towards him. He focused on wrapping the gauze around her ankle and Tsukushi observed him as he did so. "So... where are your friends?" she shyly asked. "They're doing their own thing, Rui is probably sleeping," he simply answered as he finished taping the last piece. "Uh... Th...Thank you Doumyouji..." she was a little hesitant but it's true that he's helped her this time.

He looked up at her in surprise; he didn't expect that. Their eyes locked for a split second, which seemed longer. Tsukushi quickly turned away slightly blushing. He was positioned between her legs kneeling by her bed and she was still in her soaking white dress. "I...ugh, need to clean off" but before she could hide herself in the bathroom he stopped her. "You silly, I just freshly wrapped your ankle, we're gonna have to take it off and do it all over again!" He pretended to be angry. "Oh right, I think I can wrap it again myself, but thanks!"

Tsukasa laid down on her bed for a while, even after she stepped in the shower. He heard the shower turn on and the water pouring down from it. His wild imaginations came back to him again. _I wonder what she looks like right now. I want to be in there with her…_ Realizing what he was thinkinghe should his head closed his eyes.

Tsukushi stepped out of the shower, limping to find Tsukasa lying on her bed. "What are you still doing here?" she quietly asked. His eyes snapped open, "oh, sorry I..." When he sat up to take a look at Tsukushi he had to stop. Her hair was wet, the water droplets were still sliding down the curves of her neck and she had a towel tightly wrapped around her chest. Most of her legs were visible and her eyes were shiny from the moisture in the air. "Don't stare at me like that..." she quickly turned around to dry her hair. "Let me wrap it again" he said in an almost demanding tone.

She quietly walked over to Tsukasa and sat on the bed. He once again found himself between her legs but this time even closer to danger with her towel barely covering the mysteries of Tsukushi. His heart was racing as he quickly tried to wrap the gauze again. He felt his face burn and his mind run wild. After he finished wrapping the last roll he stood still. "Tsukasa?" she gently put her fragile hand on his shoulder. He quickly knocked her backwards onto the bed. The towel she's been wear has come undo due to the sudden movement. Now she lay beneath him with her sides slightly revealed.

He impatiently grabbed her and began to slide his hand behind her back. He leaned in for a desperate kiss, aggressive and inconsiderate. He tangled his right hand in her hair and swiftly pulled the large towel away from beneath her. Tsukushi gasped and began to panic. "Tsukasa! No! Please!" she tried to push him off of her but it was useless. He was too big for her to move. He held her in a tight kiss with his left hand, holding her firmly behind her neck pushing her lips against his. He fumbled to unhook his help and unzip his pants. Tsukushi's heart began to pound faster than ever. _No, it can't be, no, how can this be happening? Please, Tsukasa this isn't the real you, I know it! _He pushed aside her underwear, not even bothering to take them off, and he entered her. "Ugh!" he grunted as he forcefully placed himself into her. She let out a loud whimper as she felt a mixture of pleasure, pain, and angst. "Tsukasa..." she began to stutter his name as it began to become harder for her to breath properly as she started tearing up.

Her tiny hands were still placed on each side of his strong, broad shoulders as she tried to push him away. "It hurts! Please Tsukasa stop!" she arched her back in order to push him away but this only encouraged him even more. It was like he wasn't even listening. Tears began to flow down her cheeks no matter how hard she tried not to let it happen. She was confused in a state of mixed feelings. _This isn't the way I wanted my first time to be..._She also couldn't help shaking the disappointing thoughts away as his powerful thrusts shook her whole body.

She felt him grunt louder and the way he handled her became even rougher. He squeezed her breast and held her legs further apart with his knees as he pumped in and out. _I feel so dirty, god, I hate this. I feel violated, disturbed, and dirtied!_ "Tsukasa please..." she felt his warmness inside of her, her sobs were becoming more subdued as she became tired of crying.

He opened his eyes to witness what he had done. Ignoring all warnings of civility, he had raped her. This tiny fragile girl looks scared to death beneath him. Trembling greatly, shaking... Her eyes are watery and her cheeks are stained with tears. His rough kisses left her lips red and swollen and he didn't even dare to look past that. "Oh god..." he quietly said to himself. He was so ashamed and embarrassed at his inability to control his emotions and instinctive desires. "Tsukushi... I... I... never meant to hurt you..." his faced filled with horror. She turned away from his sight and covered herself fully with a blanket.

Nothing could describe the way he felt now. Not only did he feel guilty of everything, he had disrespected a woman. A woman who he might be falling in love with all due to his childish desires and immature ability to control them. _Oh god, what am I going to do now? I don't think I can even face her again._

He looked at himself through the mirrored and reflected back to the animal he had become earlier. He imagined Tsukushi, horrified and trembling beneath him, begging him to stop. How she much have felt, Tsukasa truly felt like a low-life. He needed to make this up to her somehow, but he couldn't think of a way. But whatever was going to happen, he couldn't stay on this island anymore.


	5. The AfterMath

Title

"I can't believe this! You really mean that THE Doumyouji would do that to you?" Yuki's eye widened as she listened through Tsukushi's whole story. She was the only one Tsukushi was able to trust and she found a tiniest bit of comfort in confiding. "So... that probably means he didn't even use protection! Horrible!" Yuki added, "we need to get you a pregnancy test right away!"

Yuki marched out of the Dango shop after work with Tsukushi's hand to the local convenient store. "Yuki... I... I really don't think I can do this..." Tsukushi's eyes became teary again and her face began to burn. "Ah! I'm so sorry, I was a bit insensitive about your feelings... You know, if it would make you feel better I'll go in and get them myself!" Yuki would normally never say things like this, but for the loyalty to her best friend since kindergarten, a little bit of embarrassment was no problem. "But we can't go to the store near our houses! We'll have to take a trip downtown," she blushed a bit also and headed towards the bus station.

"You wait here, I'm going to go get it, I'll be right back," Yuki marched into the store while Tsukushi waited outside with her favorite peach drink. Ever since that night, she couldn't get her mind off of the incident. After hours and days of thinking and analyzing, she realized it wasn't the concept of rape that bothered her but the fact that Doumyouji turned out to be a completely different person than who she thought he might could be. Someone who she may have wanted to fall in love with. She shook her thoughts away. _I can't trust him anymore. He was never the kind of person I thought he was. Forget him, Tsukushi!_

After an afternoon of interning at the Doumyouji Corp. headquarters, Doumyouji got into his limo and headed on his way back home. No matter what he was doing or how occupied he tried to keep himself, he couldn't shake the image of brittle Tsukushi shaking and crying. It gave him a gut-wrenching feeling inside. Like someone was pinching his heart as hard as it could bruise. He wanted to jump around and scream in frustration.

He's been feeling horrible and it's been two weeks since the incident. He had also realized that he had not used protection, which added to the remorse he felt about his mistakes. "Driver, please stop the car," he quickly said as he passed by a downtown convenient store. It took a great deal of embarrassment for him to do such a thing but it had to be done for the sake of his unforgivable behavior. He stepped out of the car and made his way to the store. He took a glance to the side and spotted a girl in the Eitoku uniform shaking her amber locks. Instantly, he knew. His heart began to race and all he wanted to do was run to her, hold her, and beg for forgiveness; but that wasn't his style.

He hated the way he wouldn't let himself crumble for anyone like that. He wondered what she would be doing here but he pushed the thought aside and walked into the store.

Things have been difference since the trip. She stopped showing up for tutoring session and he had been purposely avoiding her in school, most of the time, not even going. He secretly admitted that he did miss her, he missed teasing her and hearing all the funny comebacks she had to say. He missed smelling her rose scented bath soap every time he was near her and he missed her silly smile.

He found the isle he was looking for to see another familiar face. "Doumyouji! You're a disgrace," she frowned and walked away with something in her hand. He stood still for one of his fears was the rumor spreading around school to ruin his reputation even more. But then he knew, Tsukushi would never do that. He knew she had every right to be angry, upset, and disappointed at him, but he knew she'd never retaliate like that. In hopes of reconciliation with her somehow, he picked up a box of pregnancy tests and took it to the counter. He looked out the glass shop door and the two girls were nowhere to be found.

He stepped out of the store a bit embarrassed and got into the car. He carefully wrapped the box in it's crunchy plastic bag and put it away in his bag.

That even, a bell rang at the Makino's place. "Tsukushi! It's D...d...d...doumyouji-sama!! The great heir for the famous Doumyouji corp.!" her mother shrieked as she opened the door. "Hello Mrs. Makino, may I borrow Tsukushi for a few minutes outside?" he politely asked for permission. "Of course, take her! Take her anywhere you'd like Mr. Doumyouji!" she began to stutter and made her way to Tsukushi's room. "What are you doing? Hurry up and come out!" she yelled. "Tell him that I don't want to see him!" She yelled back.

"Tsukushi, listen to your mother, this is THE Doumyouji-sama we are talking about!" her mother practically begged. "Mom, please! Tell him to go away!!" she yelled loud enough for Tsukasa to hear. Her mother soon came out of Tsukushi's room with a greatly disappointed face. "I...I'm greatly sorry Doumyouji-sama, but... It seems like she is wholly against seeing you..." she repeated as she bowed a little. "Please excuse my discourteous behavior," and without any other word he stepped inside the house, walked swiftly passed her mother and opened the door.

"Mama! I said I didn't want..." she turned around with an angry look on her face. "Tsu... Tsukasa! What...What are you doing here? Please, leave me alone!" Her face began to turn red and tears began to form in her eyes. "Tsukushi, listen..." he walked over to her bed and sat down.

"I'm just as uncomfortable about us being here like this as you are. And I am also going through a lot of emotional flurries right now... Ever since that day, I... I haven't been able to get you off my mind. I can't stop worrying, I can't stop thinking about what I've done!" he continued, "I can only imagine your anger and hatred towards me but I know there is nothing I can do right now to make everything back to normal but this is my first step. I just... wanted you to be safe... I... brought you these..." he blushed a little bit but with a firm hand, he handed the packet of pregnancy tests to her. She looked at him in surprise and slowly reached out for it.

Seeing Tsukushi made Doumyouji feel so much better. He knew she was ok, he knew that she wasn't shriveling up somewhere because Tsukushi is the strong-hearted girl he knew her to be. "If... Anything happens, you can come to me anytime... I promise I won't hurt you, ever again. I will support you," with his last words echoing in her head, he stood up and walked out of her room. She quickly hid the now, two boxes of pregnancy tests in her drawer before her mother came in. "What was that all about?" she asked, "oh, nothing... just some stupid high school stuff..." Tsukushi lied. "Well be nice to that boy, he is RICH!" and she walked about of her room.

"You're supposed to pee on it, or I guess you can dip it in pee too..." Yuki read the instructions out loud. "Be quiet! People can hear you!" Tsuksuhi shushed her best friend in embarrassment.

She took a plastic cup into the bathroom to activate the test. Too scared to look at the test results she handed them to Yuki first. "Ew, you want me to touch this?" she joked, "please, lie to me even if its positive ok?" Tsukushi shut he eyes tightly. The test only showed one line. "Oh! Tsukushi, I don't have to lie, look it says it's negative!" Yuki exclaimed. "But I want to be sure, let me go try another time!" she ran back into the bathroom.

"How did you get two?" Yuki asked in curiosity, "Oh... well the other day, Tsukasa came by my house to drop them off..." Tsukushi slowly admitted. "Oh, pft, what a gentleman I guess!" and Yuki showed a total dislike for him. As the two pregnancy tests showed negative, Tsukushi was able to let out a sigh of relief. "Do you think I should let Tsukasa know about this too?" Tsuksuhi asked for her friend's advice, "no! You should let him rot in misery thinking of all the possibilities that could ruin his life like you did for the past two weeks!" Yuki spat out in bitterness. And Tsukushi sat in a chair, thinking about it for a while.

"YOU DID WHAT?" the remaining three of the F4 yelled in unison as Tsukasa finally admitted to them about his dirty deed. "I can't believe it Tsukasa, we didn't set you up with Tsukushi for you to end up like this!" Akira let his secret slip. "What?!" Tsukasa was angered by the fact that it was a plan gone wrong. "Well, Tsukasa, ,Tsukushi has been the only one who was strong-minded enough to withstand you and your war proposals… and we figured she might be the best choice for you to loose your vir..." Soujiro was interrupted by Rui, "so what did you do? That's why you guys left the island so early?"

"Yeah," Tsukasa replied with a sigh. "Ugh, I still can't believe, there is no way to mend this..." Soujiro rubbed his forehead. "Well, it's not like you really liked her anyway right? So I mean, I guess it's alright for you guys to just eventually part like this, right?" Akira suggested in hopes of easing Tsukasa's worries. "Well, the thing is... I think I've been attracted to her somewhat lately..." Tsukasa slowly admitted to a yet another confession.

As Tsukasa stepped out of the shower a butler knocked on the door. "Doumyouji-sama, there is a young lady downstairs who wishes to see you," immediately, Tsukasa ran out of his room and to the room she was waiting in. "Tsukushi!" he yelled out her name but he was wrong.

"Tsukushi? You're such a jerk! I can't believe you forgot my name already, Tsukasa!" the young girl cheerfully replied. "Sh...Shigeru! What are you doing here?" with a amalgamated feeling of disappointment and anger he yelled at her. "Hey love, aren't you happy to see your fiancée? I came all the way from New York to see you!" She ran for a hug. "Get off me!" he violently pushed her away. "You are always so mean to me, why can't you just accept that we are meant to be together by the wishes of our own parents?" she frowned and backed away. "Because, the old hag's wishes are none of my concern and it does not involve me," he bitterly spat and turned around to leave. "By the way, I'll be finishing my last year at Eitoku, with you!"


	6. Time, Lots of Time to Heal

Title

"Look Tsukushi, it seems like Doumyouji has got a new arm-candy," Yuki bitterly informed Tsukushi as the F4 and an unfamiliar girl who seemed to be clinging on to Tsukasa continued walking down the hall. "People say she is his fiancée, Shigeru. They were arranged since childhood..." but nothing else registered in Tsukushi's ears after that. _So that was it Tsukushi. You were just his toy for the winter... I miserably fell for his vicious trap and all along he had someone else! Ugh, this was all a malicious scheme!_ "Tsukushi!!" Yuki chased after her best friend running away.

"Shigeru, why don't you just let go of him now?" the annoyed Akira suggested. "No, he's mine, all mine! Right?" she smiled and looked up at Tsukasa, "over my dead body," he replied. "Tsukushi!" a voice called out. He turned around to see Yuki chasing after a frantically running Tsukushi. He wanted to run, he wanted to run as fast as he could and pick her up in his arms. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, he wanted to comfort whatever was bothering her but he couldn't. No, not at school, he couldn't...

"What a drama queen, I hate girls like that!" Shigeru spat out, "shut up! You don't know her." Tsukasa raised his voice without realizing. "Oh wow, do you know her Tsukasa? She seemed to have caused you quite distress..." she looked up at him but he didn't reply.

It's almost been a month since the incident and only two weeks since he last saw her at her house but to Tsukasa the two weeks seemed like an eternity. _This is suffocating me. I can't think of anything to do for her no matter how hard I try. Why do I suck at this so much?_ He held his head in his hands and sank down in his couch.

"Doumyouji-sama, there is a young lady here who wishes to speak to you," another one of his servants came to inform him. He slowly walked down the steps and quickly lightened up to see Tsukushi's loosely braided hair from the back. "Tsukushi!" he smiled and took big steps towards her but stopped once she began to take a step backwards. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you... It's just that I've been worried about..."

"I know... You don't have to worry about me anymore..." she started, "that's great! I'm so glad that we..." he added. "I am not pregnant and that's all I wanted to tell you," she admitted. "Well, I'm a bit relieved that you're going to be ok!" He smiled and took a step closer. "I... I'm sorry about taking this long to tell you, I should have came to tell you about it earlier... I didn't realize you had a fiancée and I know how hard it must have been for you to worry about me ruining your bright future... I... I'm really sorry for the delay," she quickly turned around to leave. "Listen, Tsukushi! You've got this all wrong! The only one that I want is..."

"Who is this girl, Tsukasa?" Shigeru stepped down from the stairs to ask. "Hi, nice to meet you. My name is Makino Tsukushi. I just have something to return so I stopped by... But I've got to go now, bye!" Tsukushi waved a fake smile and ran out of the house. "What a strange girl, Tsukasa..." Shigeru walked closer to him, reaching out for his disappointed face. "Wasn't she the girl who made a ruckus earlier at school?" Shigeru asked, but again, she received no answer.

"Makino! I know you're in there, open up! Makino!" Tsukasa banged on her fragile apartment door as hard as he could to get her attention. Tsukushi sat in the corner of her room, curled up in a ball. "If you don't, I'm gonna have to knock your door down!" he threatened. The thought of her parents working extra to fix the broken door made her give in to his demand. She slowly walked towards the door and opened it. "Makino, listen to me, please!" he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. At his sudden contact she slightly jerked in surprise. It made Tsukasa's heart sink a bit after seeing her reaction to his touch, it was never like that before. He saw the amount of damage he had done to her. "I don't want the neighbors accusing us as meddling kids at this odd hour, come inside," she quietly suggested.

Tsukushi's apartment was small. It had three very small rooms, a kitchen, a tiny bathroom, and a relatively small living room. Although it had the bare minimum necessities of living, Tsukasa couldn't understand how her family managed life in such a small place. "Your house is so..." he started only to allow Tsukushi to finish, "small, I know."

She turned around to face him, "look if you're in here to just make fun of me or the way my family lives, I want you out." She firmly stood her ground and glared up at him. "Where are your parents?" he asked, "they're in Fukuoka, visiting my grandparents, they're sick," she simply answered. "What do you want?" she asked again.

"Remember the things I told you the last time I came to see you?" Tsukasa asks as Tsukushi nods to agree. "Well, nothing has changed and I can't stand us acting like strangers and the awkward silences we have between us," he continued. "Well Tsukasa, people don't always turn out to be the kind of person you thought they were," Tsukushi interrupted. "Tsukushi, no words can describe how I felt the moment after or feel today. But the closest thing I can say is that I'm genuinely regretful of my lack of respect, self-control, and civility. I haven't been able to sleep well since then and even when I'm at the Corp. building, buried in a thick workload, all I think about is you!" he made a deep eye contact with her.

"It took me a lot of time to think about what to say and how to say it. I'm not used to this... I never ask for forgiveness or beg for mercy. But for some reason... I feel like... I feel like if I never have your forgiveness, your presence, you... I won't ever be happy. Please Tsukushi, I want to make it up to you, I just don't know how yet but please, let me." He reached out to firmly hold her hand, she was trembling. "I know my sudden gestures scare you, and I understand you're afraid, I know. But please, give me time and I'll prove to you that I can be a different man than who you saw that night, please." There was a sense of great remorse in his eyes. Tsukushi saw it.

"I... I'm glad that you've come all this way to realize and understand the situation. If forgiveness is what you're asking of me, I can give you that. But like you said, I need time. You can't just show up like this, without warning. It just frustrates me even more," she began. "I... I really thought I could trust you but I'm scared Tsukasa. I'm scared I don't know you anymore..." she began to quietly sob. "And plus, you already have a fiancée, don't waste you time and energy on me. You should be focusing to please her... I know you don't like her very much but... in time you might..."

"Stop! Don't talk about Shigeru when you're with me. This is about us. I don't want her to distract you from seeing who I really am. I want you to know, be proud, that you're the only one I want." He blurted out, half out of the spur of the moment. Tsukushi's eyes suddenly widened and looked deep into his eyes. She stood there, like a confused child. Tsukasa slowly made his way towards her and wrapped his strong arms around her. "Let me stay over tonight, I want to protect you, not hurt you, ever again," he softly whispered in her ear. She didn't object, she buried her face in his chest and continued to quietly sob.

Tsukushi had quietly fallen asleep in his arms. She wore a light hooded sweatshirt and a pair of pajama shorts. He did not dare touch her anywhere else but where she allowed him to. He wrapped his arm around her waist and the other as her arm pillow. She still smelt of roses, the smell he missed the most. He studied her face as he stroked her hair. He kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, but when he got to her lips he stopped. She was trembling again. "Tsukushi?" he softly asked, "s... sorry, I... I was just... scared..." Tsukasa hugged her tightly and said once again "alright, I won't ever force you to do anything you're not comfortable with. We'll give it time, lots of time alright?" he gently smiled and wiped the hair off her face. She softly nodded and drifted back off to sleep.

Tsukasa woke up in an empty bed, _Tsukushi?_ He thought to himself. He got off her bed and walked out to the living room. As soon as he swung open the door, the smell of bacon and eggs traveled up his nose. "Mm, this smells good!" he complimented as he turned into the kitchen. Tsukushi stood in front of a stove with her back against him. She had tied her hair in a low, side-swept ponytail and wore the same clothes she went to bed in. Her legs were white and smooth looking, not to mention straight. He couldn't help but to stare.

She turned around with a frying pan full of scrambled eggs and bacon. "I hope you like our local grocery store's produce... This isn't first class fine dining but it's the best I've got," she said sarcastically as she transferred the contents into an empty plate. "I couldn't have just called our chef and he could have brought food over..." Tsukasa answered without catching the sarcasm in her voice and Tsukushi just glared back as he realized this and slapped his forehead. "Eat," she simply ordered.

They both sat down at the tiny table and began eating the freshly made breakfast. "I love the way you scrambled your eggs!" he complimented again. "Thanks..." she replied. Without much conversations going on throughout breakfast, it was an awkward moment. _Oh god, what should I say? I should just eat my breakfast really fast..._ Tsukasa hurried to think of how to make the situation less uncomfortable. "Tsukushi?" he slowly turned his head up from the plate, "Hmm?" she answered with a mouthful of food. "I would like to ask you to tutor me again... if you'd like of course... I haven't been doing well yet in class..." he offered with a lot of pauses. She took time to think about it for a moment. "Alright, for now I guess..." she slowly replied.

"Where is Tsukasa?" Shigeru frantically called around to find out where he has been all night. At that moment, the door clicked open and Tsukasa stepped in. "Tsukasa! Where did you go last night??" she flung into his arms only to be pushed away. "You went to Makino's didn't you?" Akira teased, "yeah" he simply answered. Shigeru was shocked, "Makino? You mean that poor little girl Tsukushi?" she glared up at him. "Ha ha, calm down Shigeru, take a chill pill! They've gone all the way it's not like it'd be anymore awkward between the two..." and Akira stopped in his track followed by a painful nudge from Soujiro. "All the way? What do you mean? Tell me Tsukasa!" Shigeru begged, "Shigeru! This is none of your business. I hate that you have to be here bothering me and butting your little nose in my business!" Tsukasa yelled back in frustration. "It's not fair! You're my fiancé and I never keep anything away from you but you always do!" she argued back with tears in her eyes. "You know why Shigeru, this is all arranged and I..." he was interrupted, "but I love you!" Shigeru boldly admitted. Everyone stood up in shock at this sudden confession. "I'm sorry Shigeru, I can't return the feelings for you. To me this is still an arranged marriage," with his words clearly said, he walked out of the room.


End file.
